COVID-19: Decisions made by the Division Assembly to Address Financial Crisis

The manager, who has recovered from COVID-19, announced in a video conference that the Division Assembly has made several decisions, including the removal of promotion and relegation for five years.

Bonilla explained that the Ascenso division has lost income in recent seasons, both in television rights and sponsorships, ticket sales, and match day earnings.

"Stadium attendance has dropped to an average of 8,000 people per match at best," explained the manager, who acknowledged that the country's financial crisis has exacerbated the division's problems.

"Several current projects are on the verge of bankruptcy, with the risk of disappearing due to lack of fresh resources and the need to cover an annual financial deficit of more than 25 million pesos per club on average," he added.

According to Bonilla, the elimination of promotion and relegation means that the 2019-2020 season will be considered finished without a champion, from which the so-called development league will be created, a division format that serves as a breeding ground for players.

"In order to support the growth of the clubs in the Ascenso Mx and their continued participation in the new division, and to help them consolidate their growth, 240 million pesos per year (about 10 million dollars) will be allocated for each of the following five seasons, that is, 20 million pesos per year per club," he explained.

Bonilla reiterated that players from Liga Mx teams, the First Division championship, are working from home to maintain their physical condition as much as possible until the Clausura tournament can resume when the COVID-19 crisis permits.

"We are working on all possible scenarios for scheduling, but for now we must wait and follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health. We are attentive, day by day, to the updates and reports in order to design action plans that allow the return of our sport," he concluded.